KENNESAW — Wrestlers from Harrison, Wheeler and Hillgrove weren’t ready to end their seasons following Friday’s action in the Class AAAAAA sectional at Kennesaw Mountain.

All three schools carried large contingents into the meet, and all of them are still alive entering today’s final rounds.

The Region 4AAAAAA champion Hawks have all 10 of their wrestlers competing for one of the eight berths into the state finals, which will be held next week at the Macon Centreplex. Four of them — Carlin Powell (113 pounds), Cameron Westerman (120), Garrett Johnson (152) and Peyton Hewitt (220) — are into the semifinals, while the other six need to win their first match today to advance.

Powell won a 5-0 decision over Habersham Central’s Austin Comeck to reach the semifinals, while Westerman won 2-0 against Johnny Hyre of North Gwinnett. Johnson made quick work of Roswell’s Eric Lewis, beating him for a pin in 1 minute and 9 seconds, and Peyton Hewitt barely broke a sweat against Douglas County’s Michael Parris after securing a 23-second quarterfinal-round pin.

All six of Harrison’s wrestlers will be competing today, including Aaron Powell (106), Anthony Fiacco (152) and Dylan Porter (195), who each reached the semifinals.

Powell used a 4-2 decision over East Coweta’s Dusty Nelson to advance and Fiacco picked up a pin in 3:28 against Wheeler’s JaQuan Adams. Dylan Porter beat Alex Byrd of Peachtree Ridge via pin in 2:57.

Wheeler also had a good day as its nine wrestlers are still in action, including semifinalists Aslan Kilic (106) and Aaron McGilvery (138).

Kilic won in 4:45 over Kennesaw Mountain’s Wil Clavecilla, and McGilvery topped Jacob Stanko of Hillgrove following a 5-3 decision.

The Blue Devils advanced nine of their 10 wrestlers, including Lawton Ward, who via pin in 4:26 over Connor Shields of Lassiter at 170 pounds.

“We brought 10 and we still have nine left with one in the semifinals,” Marietta coach Tommy Carthers said. “I thought we came out cold in our first few matches and we weren’t ready to wrestle, and that hurt us. It put us in a whole with a lot of guys in the wrestlebacks and now we just have to hope they can dig themselves out and get themselves through to next week.”

Paul Pelletier was Lassiter’s lone wrestler to move into the semifinals after he pinned Michael Cunningham of Norcross in 1:50 at 120 pounds. He is one of six Trojans still alive for a sectional berth.

“Pelletier’s into the semifinal, but he has a tough matchup against (Collins Hill’s Ryan) Milhoff,” Lassiter coach Steve Day said of Pelletier’s opponent, who is currently ranked sixth in the nation at 120 pounds according to Amateur Wrestling News.

Campbell advanced Jamez Taylor into the semifinals following his 1-0 decision against North Gwinnett’s Donovan Haynes at 132 pounds. Taylor scored the lone point of the match in the third period and held on for the victory.

The Spartans have seven other wrestlers still alive in the consolation rounds.

Walton’s Jacob Murphy won his 132-pound match 4-3 against Meadowcreek’s Rene Deluna, and the Raiders have three other wrestlers in action today.

Kennesaw Mountain’s Augusto Paes (138) and Justan Rivera (182) are in the semifinals as well, but the Mustangs, who brought eight wrestlers to the sectional, have only five remaining.

“We just didn’t catch the breaks that we needed,” Kennesaw Mountain coach Roberto Rivera said. “We lost three, but the guys can still make their way into state with a good round (today).”

McEachern, which brought nine wrestlers, still has Sharrod Pittman (285) and Christian Wade (195) as two of its seven wrestlers still competing.

North Cobb’s Brent Crowder is alive in the consolation bracket at 145, while South Cobb’s Demetrik McClaine (152) and Graben Higgins (220) are also competing.

*We welcome your comments on the stories and issues of the day and seek to provide a forum for the community to voice opinions. All comments are subject to moderator approval before being made visible on the website but are not edited. The use of profanity, obscene and vulgar language, hate speech, and racial slurs is strictly prohibited. Advertisements, promotions, and spam will also be rejected. Please read our terms of service for full guides